Will the Real Vitamin C Please Stand Up? (Superfood Series)

It's that wonderful time of year again. The sniffles, sneezes, coughs and runny noses abound.

What's a mother to do? Rather than encourage you to reach for that synthetic absorbic acid in pill or powder form, I want to suggest an alternative. I use and love Acerola Powder. It is my natural source of Vitamin C.

Vitamin C, as I am sure you all know, cannot be produced or stored by our bodies. Yet, it is of vital importance to our heatlh (as too many sailors had to learn the hard way!). This means that in order to have sufficent amouts of Vitamin C, we must consume it.

To help my body fight of colds this time of year I take Acerola Powder. One teaspoon gives me approximately 150 mg's of Vitamin C.

But What is Acerola Powder?

Alternatively
known the Barbados or West Indian cherry, Acerola berries are thought to have
originated in Yucatan. In addition to large amounts of Vitamin C, Acerola contains Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, carotenoids and
bioflavonoids. It is chock full of nutrients. It helps the body form
collagen, heal wounds, strengthen teeth and bones, fights cancer,
ward off the flu and fight colds. No wonder it's considered a "Super
Fruit".

Acerola powder is simply the Acerola berry in a dried, powdered form. Because
it is a fruit, and not a synthetic knock-off, the vitamin C in the
Acerola berry is better absorbed by our bodies.

So,
when I start to feel like I might be fighting off a cold or flu I will either
mix a couple teaspoons with water and drink it, or I will make myself this
smoothie:

good post - I can't wait to try your recipe. I think it's so sad when people put synthetic vitamins in thier bodies, which always do more harm than good. My family takes Shaklee's all natural vitamin C and love it!

Where would you find vitamin c powder without extra ingredients? The ones I've seen either are ascorbic acid or they have maltodextrin in them.Finding pure vitamin C has been next to impossible. Thanks for a great post.

Hmmm... Good question. As far as I understand finding a NATURAL pure vitamin C supplement is impossible--nature doesn't create things that way. That is why I like using things like Acerola Powder. It's not pure Vitamin C, but that's better anyways for your body--you get more good stuff, and your body uses the other stuff to help you make the most of the Vitamin C that is there. Whole foods all the way, baby. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week!

Hey! Sorry I didn't respond to you sooner. Typically I just mix it with a bit of water and drink it. For my 17 month old sometimes I just get a spoon wet at the tip and dip it into the jar and hand her the spoon. She loves licking off the tart goodness. Hope that helps! <3

Thanks for the brilliant article and recipe :) This is a great way to use acerola in your diet to boost vitamin C intake!I was wondering if you would like to link this (or any suitable past or future posts) up to a new blog link-up I'm hosting that's all about the celebration of drinking real food! It covers smoothies, juices, teas and fermented beverages and I would love if you would be a part of it as often as you would like to participate :)http://omnomally.com/2013/11/17/smoothie-otw-link-up-week-2

It is the best way to get the required Vitamins Benefit from these natural sources.Acerola is a fruit and not a synthetic knock-off, the vitamin C in the Acerola berry is better absorbed by our bodies.